World Surf League considers new investors and a possible sale after strong audience growth
World Surf League, the leading organization in professional surfing, has entered a process of exploring strategic options that could lead to the arrival of new investors, while the sale of the entire league is also mentioned as one of the options. According to reports by sports business media and confirmation that the league gave to specialized publications, the talks are at an early stage and there is no guarantee that they will end in a transaction. Still, the very fact that WSL is considering such a move shows how much the position of professional surfing has changed in the global sports industry. The league is trying to present itself as a digitally strong, internationally recognizable sports platform, and not only as a traditional competition calendar tied to several iconic locations.
According to Sportico, as reported by The Inertia, Mundo Deportivo, DUKE and CB Insights, WSL has already presented business materials to potential investors, and the investment and advisory firm The Raine Group has been engaged as an adviser in the process. In a media statement, the league said that it had received “significant interest” and that it was exploring strategic alternatives in order to accelerate the next phase of growth. In the sports business, such wording can mean different outcomes: a minority investment, a strategic partnership, raising new capital or a complete change of ownership. WSL emphasizes that it remains focused on athletes, fans and partners, which is a common message from organizations that want to signal stability while at the same time testing the capital market.
The process comes after a year of record indicators
One of the main arguments with which WSL is presenting itself to potential investors is audience growth. According to data that the league communicated to specialized media, global reach in 2025 rose to 80 million people on linear and digital platforms, which was presented as growth of 39 percent compared with the previous year. WSL also cited 20.3 million hours watched, an average live audience of 2.5 million per event, 1.5 billion social media impressions and 849 million video views in 2025. These numbers are important because professional surfing has for years faced the question of whether it can turn its cultural appeal into a stable and scalable media product. If the indicators presented by the league are sustainable, they give it a stronger negotiating position at a time when sports rights and niche sports formats are attracting increasing capital.
The recently held Gold Coast Pro in Australia stands out in particular. According to materials reviewed by American media and according to WSL statements, the event attracted more than 50,000 spectators on site, while some subsequent data presented by the league spoke of more than 100,000 visitors over the course of the entire event. WSL also stated that consumption of the Gold Coast Pro broadcast increased by 30 percent compared with the previous year. The difference between individual figures probably stems from different methods of counting visitors and the time scope of the event, so they should be read with caution. But even the more conservative figure of several tens of thousands of people on site shows that elite surfing, when held at a recognizable and accessible destination, can generate significant audience interest beyond the online broadcast itself.
Why streaming suits surfing better than classic television
WSL’s business model differs from most stadium sports because competitions cannot always be precisely fitted into a fixed television schedule. Surfing depends on waves, wind, tide, ebb tide and safety conditions, which is why start times often shift within multi-day competition windows. According to interpretations by media that followed the investment process, the league therefore emphasizes to potential investors the advantage of streaming distribution. Digital platforms cope more easily with a variable schedule, enable notifications for fans, longer broadcasts and later consumption of clips that spread across social networks. Such a model can be commercially attractive if the audience is retained throughout the entire season, and not only during a few of the best-known competitions.
The digital approach also allows WSL to present itself as a media company with its own content, and not only as an organizer of sports events. This is important for potential investors because the value of the league does not depend only on ticket sales or local sponsors, but also on broadcast rights, audience data, social networks, short video formats, commercial partnerships and possible new competition products. According to CB Insights’ summary of Sportico’s report, WSL also tells potential investors that the average fan is 38 years old and that a large share of the league’s Instagram followers do not follow other major sports leagues. If those data are accurate, they give WSL an argument that it can reach an audience that traditional sports brands find harder to reach.
Dirk Ziff and the long road from ASP to WSL
Today’s WSL grew out of the Association of Surfing Professionals, an organization that managed the highest level of professional surfing for decades. According to surf media reports, the American business group ZoSea, which is linked to Dirk Ziff, took over ASP in 2012, and the organization was rebranded as World Surf League in 2015. For more than a decade, Ziff was the key financial pillar of the project that tried to turn professional surfing into a more modern, centralized and media-stronger league. That process included investments in broadcast production, a global schedule, digital platforms and the professionalization of a structure that had previously been strongly tied to athletes, sponsors from the surf industry and the specific culture of competitive surfing.
That is precisely why a possible change of ownership has broader significance than an ordinary business transaction. If WSL gets a new majority owner or a strong minority investor, that could determine the direction in which professional surfing develops in the next decade. One direction would be strengthening commercial and media potential, with greater reliance on streaming, data, new formats and expansion into markets outside traditional surf centers. Another challenge will be preserving credibility among the existing surf audience, which is often skeptical of excessive commercialization and moving away from iconic waves. For that reason, any potential buyer or investor will be assessed not only by financial strength, but also by whether they understand the sporting and cultural distinctiveness of surfing.
Ryan Crosby took over the league during a period of major changes
The league’s management has changed in recent years, and an important moment was the arrival of Ryan Crosby as chief executive officer. According to a WSL announcement reported by SurferToday, Swellnet and other specialized media, Crosby was appointed in April 2024, and was due to take up the role on May 13 of the same year. In his career, he worked in technology, gaming and media companies, including Microsoft, Activision, Netflix, Hulu and Riot Games. Such a profile shows that in the new phase WSL was not looking only for a sports administrator, but for a manager with experience in building digital audiences, brands and entertainment content. His arrival followed the departure of Erik Logan and a period of interim leadership.
Under Crosby’s leadership, the league moved to redesign the competition system. According to WSL reports carried by surf media, from the 2026 season the Final 5 format was abolished, the women’s field was expanded, the earlier mid-season cut was removed in its previous form, and the season again ends at Pipeline in Hawaii. Events with a reduced field were also introduced in the final part of the season, including Abu Dhabi and Portugal, before the concluding Pipe Masters. Such changes should be viewed in the same context as the search for capital: WSL is trying to create a calendar that is fairer to athletes, easier for fans to understand and more attractive to commercial partners. The return of Pipeline as the decisive finale is at the same time an attempt to align modernization with the sport’s tradition.
The new season as a showcase for potential buyers
The 2026 season has special importance for WSL because it is being presented as the 50th year of professional surfing, and the calendar is designed to include several key markets and different types of waves. According to reports on the published schedule, the Championship Tour began in Australia, with events at Bells Beach, in Margaret River and on the Gold Coast, and continues through New Zealand, El Salvador, Brazil, Tahiti, Fiji, California, Abu Dhabi, Portugal and Hawaii. Such a schedule allows the league to show investors its global reach, but also to maintain a connection with locations that have strong status in surf culture. The finale at Banzai Pipeline is especially important because it is one of the most famous and most demanding waves in the world.
According to the announced format, men and women collect points throughout the season, with the final Pipe Masters carrying greater points weight than standard competitions. SurfGirl Magazine, SurferToday and other specialized sources state that the season includes 12 events and an expanded women’s field, which WSL presents as an important step toward a more equal and more competitive structure. For potential investors, such a calendar has a dual function. On the one hand, it shows that the league can produce content throughout most of the year. On the other hand, it gives a clear seasonal narrative, from the Australian start to the Hawaiian finale, which is commercially useful for audiences, sponsors and distribution partners.
The sale of the stake in Surf Ranch shows broader restructuring
Alongside talks on strategic alternatives, American surf media also reported that WSL sold its stake in Kelly Slater Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California. According to The Inertia and summaries carried by other media, details of the transaction were not officially announced, and the structure of the new ownership is not completely clear. Shop Eat Surf Outdoor stated, citing Sportico and Stab, that this is part of broader financial restructuring and that Los Angeles businessman Joseph Self is mentioned among the investors. WSL has not publicly released complete documentation that would allow precise confirmation of all details, so this information must be treated as a media report, not as a fully clarified official announcement.
Surf Ranch is an important symbol of WSL’s ambition to expand the sport beyond natural waves. Artificial wave technology opens the possibility of holding competitions in more controlled conditions, closer to major markets and with a more precise schedule, which has traditionally been one of the greatest challenges of surfing as a media product. But such projects at the same time require large capital and raise the question of acceptance among an audience that connects surfing with the natural ocean, local culture and the unpredictability of conditions. If WSL is indeed focusing on the core competition product and reducing exposure to capital-intensive side projects, that could represent a cleaner and clearer business story for potential investors.
A broader trend of investment in alternative sports leagues
A potential sale or recapitalization of WSL is not happening in isolation. According to Sportico’s report as carried by CB Insights, media companies, existing sports organizations, private equity and wealthy individuals are mentioned among possible sources of capital. In the same context, it is stated that alternative and action sports are becoming increasingly interesting to investors looking for global brands with a younger audience and strong digital potential. CB Insights notes that X Games League and Snow League have also attracted investor interest, while The Raine Group on its official website emphasizes a focus on sport, content, music, gaming, advertising, commerce and technology. It is precisely the intersection of sport, content and digital distribution that makes WSL an interesting, but also risky, project.
What a sale could mean for athletes and fans
For surfers on the Championship Tour, the key questions are not only ownership-related, but also competitive. Format changes have already shown that WSL is trying to respond to criticism related to the Final 5, the mid-season cut and the perception that the finale did not always faithfully enough reflect the entire season. The return of Pipeline as the decisive point can increase sporting prestige, but also pressure, because the final event on one of the most demanding waves will carry exceptional weight. If new capital enables more stable prize funds, better production, greater calendar security and stronger promotion of athletes, the change in ownership structure could be positive for competitors. If, however, short-term commercial interest prevails, fans could fear a move away from the locations and formats that give the sport its identity.
For the audience, the most important issue is whether WSL will continue to offer easily accessible broadcasting, a convincing competition system and a calendar that combines iconic waves with new markets. Professional surfing cannot be fully adapted to the logic of indoor and stadium sports, and precisely this unpredictability is part of its appeal. A potential investor will have to accept that WSL’s value lies not only in controlled production, but also in the authenticity of the moment when the world’s best surfers compete in conditions that no one can write in advance. That is why the process now under way is not only a business question for Dirk Ziff and the league’s leadership, but also a test of the direction in which professional surfing will go after its jubilee season.
Sources:
- Shop Eat Surf Outdoor – report on WSL’s strategic alternatives, audience growth in 2025, the league spokesperson’s statement and the context of Dirk Ziff’s ownership (link)
- The Inertia – report on possible investor entry or sale of WSL, Sportico’s report, Gold Coast Pro data and changes to the competition format (link)
- Mundo Deportivo – report on WSL’s exploration of new investment, the early stage of talks and the league spokesperson’s statement (link)
- DUKE Surf – report on the engagement of The Raine Group, possible buyers and the ownership context of WSL (link)
- CB Insights – summary of Sportico’s report on WSL, Raine Group, audience data, potential investors and the Olympic context (link)
- The Raine Group – official description of advisory and investment services in sport, content, music, gaming and related sectors (link)
- SurferToday – report on the appointment of Ryan Crosby as chief executive officer of WSL and his professional experience (link)
- Swellnet – republished WSL announcement on the appointment of Ryan Crosby and the date of taking office (link)
- SurfGirl Magazine – report on the WSL Championship Tour 2026 schedule, the 50th year of professional surfing and the expanded women’s field (link)
- SurferToday – report on major format changes for the WSL Championship Tour 2026 (link)
- The Inertia – report on the abolition of the Final 5 format and the return of the season finale to Pipeline from 2026 (link)